Gearing for washing-machines.



PATBNTBD PEB. 26, 1907.

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GEARING FOB. WASHING MACHINES. I

AAPPLIoJurIolr Hum n1.c 14, 1906.

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PATENTED PEB. 26, 1907.

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the operator becomes unnecessary, the stored- GEABING Fon wAsHiNe-m'Acl-imes.

` A Specification of Letters Patent. Application-Ned December 14,1906. Serial-.Nm 347,744.'

ANDREW `n...oiamisTENsaN, or cmcAeomLrNors, AssIGNoR To THE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, or QHICAGQ ILLINOIS, A

Patented Feb. 2e, room To all whom it.ma,y concern: i 1e Be it known that l, AANDREW B.- CnmsTEN l SEN, a citizen of the United States, a resident i of Chicago, inthe county-of-Cook and. State of Illinois, have invented certainv new and useful Improvements Gearing for Vlash- 1 ing-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates 4to certain new and useful improvements in gearing for washingmachines of that class in which a beater within the tub or other clothes-receptacle'has imparted to it a rotary reciprocatory vmovement, and more particularly to machines of this class which contain mechanism for storing up in a fly-Wh eel part of the energy or force exerted to drive the beater, whereby continued application of power on the part of up power serving to drive the beater after the exertions of the operator ceases until .the stored-upenergy is exhausted:

One of the objects of my invention is to simplify and cheapen thel construction of gearings of this type.

Another object is to provide means whereby a greater amount o power may be stored up with the same amount of energy on the part of the operator.

Another object is to provide means whereby the energy applied to the o erating-lever may be communicated direct y to the fly-l wheel and independent of the other mechanism which operates the beater. .To such end my invention consists of certain novel features of' construction and arrangement, a description of which will be found in the following specification and the essential; feature more particularly pointed out in the claims ap ended hereto.

he invention is clearly illustrated in the drawings accompanying this speciiication, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view. Fig. 2 is a sideview thereof looking inthe direction of the arrow 2 in Fig. -1. Fig. 3 is a similai` view with the iiy-wheel removed, the fly-wheel shaft and pinion being shown in vertical cross-section and the operati xparts in a different position from that in w ch they are shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in vertical crosssection, of the beater and its connections with vthe operating-lever, the line of sectionbeing indicated. at 4 4 in F ig. 1.v Fig.. 5 isa-plan view of a frame or bracket in which theoperating parts are mounted. Fig.. 6y is a side view. thereof looking in the direct-ion .of the arrow 6 in Fig. -5, and Fig. 7 isa front/'view thereof looking-in the direction of arrow 7 in Fig.. 5. and showing. Acertain of the operating mechanism.

Referring =to the drawings, 10 represents a tub or clothes-receptacle of ordinaryconstruction which is provided-with a cover or lid 11, hinged to a stationary part -1-2 of the tub. The cover may be locked downin its closed position by any suitablefhasp or lock 13,'as shown in the drawings.- "Upon the cover 11 is mounted-a bracket or frame 20, (see 5, 6, and 7 which .is preferably secured to. the cover by Ymeans of' bolts or screws 21.: Said bracket containsv two members or arms 2Oa 20",- and a=pair .of standards 22 extend up from the member 20", in

Awhich is journaled the rock-shaft 30,A whose mov ement -i's eiiected by an operating-lever A40. The bracket 20 contains a downwardlyprojecting journal-bearing 23, in= which is journaled a beater-shaft 5Q, which-carries a beater 51 The beater-shaft and beater are of the ordinary construction common to-machines of this kind and require no4 detailed explanation, the only requisite being that the beater shall be vertically movable upon the beatershaft and connect thereto against relative rotation. A .bevel-pinion 52 isA ,mounted upon the upper end of the shaft 50- and meshes with a segmental rack 31, fast upon the rock-shaft 30. Itis evident that oscillatory movement of the segment -will cause corresponding oscillatory movement of the beater-shaft and beater.

The operating-lever 40 is secured upon one end of the rock-shaft 30 and consists, preferably, of a bell-crank rocker member 41 one arm of which, 42, is perforated to receive the handle 43 of the lever, and the .other arm 44 of which isconnected, by means of a Pitman 60, with a gear-wheel 61. The gear-wheel 61 is journaled upon a stud- 24, projecting out from the member 2()a of the bracket or frame 20. The gear-wheel 61 meshes with a pinion 7 .1 which is preferably formed integral with a ily-Wheel 70, and said iiy-wheelis journaled IOS) upon a stud 25, which also extends out from the member 20a of the frame 20. The earwhee161 and liy-,wheel are preferably he d in place u on the studs by means of Cotter-pins a an 7 0a.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The tub is first filled with Water and the clothes to be washed and the cover fastened down. The lever 40 is then oscillated to rockthe shaft 30, the rocking movement of which is transmitted, by means of the gearing, to the beater, causing a corresponding rockin or rotary reciprocato movement thereo The rocking or oscil atory movement of the operating-lever is transformed into a continuous rotary movement of the gear-wheel 61, which by reason of its connection with the iiy-wheel causes the same to revolve at a very higth speed as compared with the movement of t e rock-shaft 30. Considerable of the engergy or force which isexerted to operate the beater is taken up and stored in the fly-wheel, so that the same will continue to operate the lever, and consequently the beater, after the exertions of the operator have ceased and until said stored-up power is exhausted. The advanta es of this construction are obvious: In the st place, the energy is transferred directly from the operating-lever to the power-storing mechanism independent of the rock-shaft 30, and because of this direct connection less power is required to store up ener y and more power in turn will be given to t e rocker-arm from 'the fly-wheel than where the connections between the operatin -lever and y-wheel are transmitted throng the shaft 30 and other complicated mechanisms. In a device of this kind friction plays an important part, and when this friction can be reduced to a minimum the power or force required to store up a certain amount of energy will obviously be a great deal less thanwhere a great amount of friction is encountered in the mechanism for transferring the energy.

I am aware that various alterations and modifications of the device are possible, and I do not, therefore,v desire to limit myself to the exact construction shown and described.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a device of the class described, the combination with a beater-shaft and a rocksliaft connected thereto, of an operating-lever arranged to rock said rock-shaft,aiy-wheel and connections between the operating-lever and fly-wheel independent of said rock-shaft, adapted to transform the oscillatory movement of the operating member to a continuous rotary movement of the Hy-wheel.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a beater-shaft and rockshaft geared thereto, of an operating-lever arranged to rock said rock-shaft, a iy-wheel,

and connections between the operating-lever and iiy-Wheel independent of said rock-shaft for transmitting the oscillatory movement of the operatii -lever to a continuous rotary movement of t e fly-wheel.

3. In a device of the class described, the

combination with a beater-shaft and rockshaft geared thereto, of a bell-crank rocker member arranged to impart a rocking movement .to the rock-shaft, a {1y-wheel, gearing for rotating said y-wheel at a lii h rate of speed as compared with the speed o the rockshaft, and a pitman connectinv said rocker member with said gearing independent of said rock-shaft and arran ed to transform the oscillatory movement o the rocker member to a continuous rot-ary movement of the fly-wheel.

5.Y In a device of the class described, the combination with a beater-shaft and a rockshaft geared thereto, of a fly-wheel a rocker member arranged to rock said rock-shaft and Imeans of connection independent of said rock-shaft between said rocker member and the y-wheel arranged to transform the oscil-l latory movement of the rocker member to a continuous rotary movement of the fly-wheel.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination with a beater-shaft and a rockshaft geared thereto, of a rocker member for said rock-shaft, a fly-wheel, a gear-Wheel geared thereto and a pitman connecting said gear-wheel with the rocker member and adapted to transform the oscillatory movement of the rocker member to a continuous rotary movement of the fly-wheel.

7. In a device of the class described, the combinationwith a bracket having laterallyprojecting studs, of a beater-shaft and rockershaft journaled therein, connections between said shafts, a rocker member arranged to impart a rocking movement to said rock-shaft, a tl -wheel journaled upon one of said studs andy carrying a pinion, a gear-wheel journaled upon the other stud and a pitman connecting the rocker with said gear-wheel.

In witness whereof I have executed the above application for Letters Patent, at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, this 10th day of December, 1906.

' ANDREW B. CHRISTENSEN.

Witnesses:

CHARLES O. SHERVEY, WILLIAM P. Bonn.

IIO

IIS 

